Christmas 2017

We had a really great Christmas weekend. Nothing beats Christmastime with little kids. Every little thing is so exciting to them. This year was extra special because we had Rob home with us all day on Christmas Eve. We decided to take advantage of two full days together and do our family presents on Christmas Eve morning. In addition to the kids’ presents from us, they also had quite a few gifts from aunts and uncles that had arrived in the mail. It was a lot, and we didn’t want Scarlett and Clark to be overwhelmed by the excitement of it all. It was great to have that Christmas morning feeling two days in a row. We opened presents, ate breakfast, and then spent the morning lounging around in our PJs watching Home Alone and getting food ready for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day. It snowed all day on Christmas Eve which made things extra magical. I LOVE having a white Christmas.

That evening we went to Rob’s parents' house to spend Christmas Eve with his family. We did presents, had dinner, and the kids got to play with our niece’s hamster which was the highlight of their evening. I was in charge of let the daycare dogs out that evening, so while I went to work, Rob went home and put the babies to bed. My parents drove down to spend the night, so they hung out with the big kids until I was home. Then we read The Night Before Christmas, put out milk and cookies for Santa along with some treats for the reindeer and then it was off to bed for Harrison and Brooke. They were quick to fall asleep, and then it was on to making the magic happen.

I woke up at 5 am on Christmas morning to go hang out with the dogs again, which was fine because I was so excited I was sleeping terribly anyway. I made it home by 7, but Harrison and Brooke had already been up and 30 minutes. My dad sent me pictures of them sneaking a peek over the balcony before they crawled into bed with their dad. The morning was a happy blur of opening presents, eating candy, coffee cake, and egg casserole, and chugging coffee and mimosas at an equal rate. Santa brings mostly books and clothes in our house, and Scarlett got to the point where she was so tired of opening clothes that if she opened something and saw a white box, she’d throw it to the side and move onto the next present. Once Clark opened his Elmo phone, he didn’t care about anything else.

Home Alone 2, lots of snacking, a visit from Rob’s family, failed nap time, lots of Lego building, and by 4pm it was just Rob and I and the kids. We watched the Steelers game, put the kids to bed by 7:30, and then fell asleep on the couch watching SNL.

It was a great couple of days. All of the decorations came down yesterday and we’re ready to move onto the babies’ second birthday tomorrow! The kids still get to open presents at my parents’ house later in the week, so the Christmas season still lives on, just not inside our house anymore.

I am so grateful for our kids and that we get to experience this season through their eyes. We are beyond blessed. I hope that all of you had a blessed holiday as well, celebrating the birth of our savior. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!